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SunOpta Inc. Stock Upgraded (STKL)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (
TheStreet)
-- SunOpta (Nasdaq:
STKL) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, increase in net income, good cash flow from operations, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

STKL's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 2.9%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 8.7%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.

The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Food Products industry. The net income increased by 72.4% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $3.37 million to $5.80 million.

Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 58.20% to $16.50 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, SUNOPTA INC has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -17.57%.

The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.52, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels. Even though the company has a strong debt-to-equity ratio, the quick ratio of 0.49 is very weak and demonstrates a lack of ability to pay short-term obligations.

Powered by its strong earnings growth of 50.00% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 40.96% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Looking ahead, the stock's sharp rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.

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SunOpta Inc. engages in the sourcing, processing, and packaging of natural and organic food products. The company has a P/E ratio of 37.3, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. SunOpta has a market cap of $492.2 million and is part of the consumer goods sector and food & beverage industry. Shares are up 32.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.